Matt Baker doesn’t miss living in London.
Matt Baker loves farm life
The ‘Countryfile’ presenter “was never one for the London party scene” and much prefers living on his farm in the Durham Dales.
The 44-year-old television personality told the Sunday Times Magazine: “People ask if I miss the buzz of London but as soon as I finished filming The One Show each night, I’d be straight in the car to drive back home to the farm. And I was never one for the London party scene. You can count the number of showbiz dos I’ve been to on the fingers of one hand.”
Matt - who presented ‘The One Show’ on BBC One from 2011 to 2020 - loves the “spare time” he gets with his new approach to life, which he gets to fill with painting and other hobbies
He said: “I love to paint in my spare time and a spring landscape is the perfect subject, with vibrant greens and yellows coming through during the light nights. After leaving The One Show, where I worked from about 7am through to 7pm, I’ve now got my evenings back. It’s as if I have a whole new day to myself!”
Along with this, Matt loves spending time with his family - which includes his wife Nicola, and his two teenage kids Luke and Molly - but admits that farm life “is not a Monday to Friday gig”.
He said: “Instead we love having movie nights, watching family films like 'Back to the Future' with hot dogs and nachos. Or sometimes we’ll play board games, then leave all the counters where they are and resume a day or two later.
We head to bed about half ten. Of course, working on a farm is not a Monday to Friday gig — the animals don’t know what a weekend is. I think the farm will remain in the family for a very long time and I want it to be in the best possible shape for whoever takes it over. That may be our children, but there’s no pressure. Maybe they’d rather be on TV. I’ll support them no matter what.”